§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the tax thresholds in each member State of the EEC, and in Sweden, the United States 431W of America and Japan for a single person, a single-wage married couple and a couple with two children.
§ Mr. Peter Rees,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 10 July 1979; Vol. 970],gave the following answer:
The information requested is given in the following table:
TAX THRESHOLDS—EMPLOYMENT INCOME Country Single Married couple £ Married couple with two children £ £ £ £ EEC Belgium 1,810 1,945 2,270 Denmark 1,410 2,650 2,650 France 2,150 2,860 4,150 Germany 1,720 3,020 3,020 Ireland 1,015 2,030 2,425 Italy 755 1,150 1,310 Luxembourg 2,020 3,370 5,270 Netherlands 2,110 2,690 2,690 United Kingdom 1,165 1,815 1,815 Others Sweden 690 1,350 1,350 United States of America 1,500 2,455 3,920 Japan 1,735 2,440 4,390 Notes:
1. Figures are for the income year 1979 or 1979–80, except for France—1978—which fixes its tax scale in arrear at the end of the income year. The United Kingdom—1979–80—figures take into account the increased personal reliefs proposed by the Chancellor in his Budget.
2. In the case of married couples, all the income is assumed to be the husband's.
3. Personal reliefs, minimum expenses deductions, employment income reliefs and other flat rate reliefs have been taken into account, as have deductible social security contributions. Voluntary contributions to social security schemes have been ignored.
4. Child benefits have been felt out of account in these figures.
5. Conversions to sterling were made at the exchange rates prevailing in London on 9 July 1979. Such conversions may not reflect differences in domestic purchasing power between the United Kingdom and individual foreign currencies.